Thread of Innocence (Joe Tyler Mystery #4)

by Jeff Shelby

  “But I just can't...”

  “Then you're going to jail tomorrow and your boys will end up in a ravine somewhere,” I said, staring at her. “It's that simple.”

  Her eyes moved to her son, still passed out on the floor.

  I pulled my wallet from my pocket and dropped my card with my name and number on the table. “Tomorrow.”

  “And if I get it to you,” she said, looking up me nervously. “If I get it to you, then you'll leave me alone? No police, no FBI?”

  I knew she wasn't stupid. If she'd been moving kids for at least a decade, she wasn't stupid. There were too many factors involved that could've gotten her caught if she was stupid. So she was smart in that way.

  But I couldn't believe she was asking me that question.

  “I just want the information on my daughter,” I said, heading for the door.

  “So we have a deal then?” she said, standing up. “I get you what you want and you go away and no one else gets involved?”

  I opened the door. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she could've done all of this while being stupid.

  “That's right,” I lied. “No one else gets involved.”

  TWENTY ONE

  The other son was gone when I walked outside, either licking his wounds or looking to take revenge against me. I eyed the cul-de-sac carefully, checked in the back of the rental before I got in before driving off slowly. He was nowhere to be found.

  My fingers ached from gripping the steering wheel so tight as I drove away. I felt like I'd made some headway, but at the same time, I felt like I was stuck in no man's land. I knew what Bandencoop was going to do. She probably didn't have any of the information I demanded. There was no reason for her to keep it. It would've been an incredibly stupid thing to do and made her much more vulnerable. She was going to pack up and disappear. She probably realized that there was no way in hell I was going to let her walk. Maybe I was wrong and maybe she was stupid enough to keep records and maybe she'd be calling me. I doubted it. But at the very least, I'd scared the hell out of her and if she did try to disappear she'd never stop looking over her shoulder. Eventually, I'd get her name to Blundell and they could work on finding her and doing whatever the hell the law would let them do to her.

  I drove aimlessly for awhile, just cruising the highway. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to be and I was going stick around for a bit on the small chance that I'd from Bandencoop. My anger level was too high to actually interact with anyone. I needed to let the anger seep out of me, at least temporarily. It was a skill I'd learned during the time Elizabeth had been gone. I'd get so worked up that I was incapable of dealing normally and rationally with people. So I stayed away from them until everything had leveled off.

  By the time the sun began to set over the mountains, I felt more collected. I pulled off the highway and grabbed a hamburger at a fast food joint and pulled into the lot of the first hotel I spotted. Ten minutes later, I was stretched out on a firm king bed, the TV on for background noise and eating the burger. The air conditioner buzzed quietly in the corner and cooled the room so efficiently that I realized I was cold. I was kicking off my shoes to get under the blankets on the bed when my phone buzzed and I saw Lauren's number on the screen.

  I touched the screen. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she said. “How are you?”

  I hesitated. “I'm okay. How are you guys?”

  “Been better.”

  “Why's that?”

  She let out a long, frustrated sigh. “I think this was a mistake.”

  I pushed myself up so I was sitting straight up on the bed, my back against the headboard. “Why?”

  “Flight was fine,” she said. “We actually talked most of the flight. Nothing serious, just talked. We were still talking when we got off. That's why I forgot to text you the second we landed.”

  “That's alright.”

  “So it was fine,” she said, then stopped. “Hang on.” The line buzzed for a moment. “Sorry. She's in the shower and wanted to make sure she was still in there.”

  “Okay.”

  “I called the Corzines after we got the rental,” she explained. “Spoke to the woman. She was surprised, but very nice.”

  I smiled. “She must've been if you're actually saying she was nice.”

  “I was trying to be open-minded,” Lauren said. “And she was very nice. Said they were dying to see Elizabeth and they'd do whatever was necessary.”

  “That doesn't sound bad.”

  “I suggested a coffee shop near their house,” she continued. “I found it online. We found it and they showed up about ten minutes later.”

  The line buzzed and it sounded like she was clearing her throat.

  “She immediately went to them and hugged them,” she said and I could tell she was on the verge of tears. “And it hurt, Joe. It hurt to watch.”

  “I'm sure,” I said. “But again. Have to try and put ourselves in her shoes.”

  “We've told her what happened, Joe,” Lauren said. “She knows they essentially bought her from us.”

  “It's not quite that clear cut, Lauren.”

  “You know what I mean,” she answered. “It's like she doesn't even care.”

  I could understand Lauren's frustration and hurt and I wasn't sure that I wouldn't have reacted the exact same way if I'd been there. But I also thought it was unrealistic to expect Elizabeth to just cut the cord with people that had apparently treated her well.

  “What happened then?” I asked.

  She sighed again. “We went through some awkward pleasantries. The guy didn't really say anything. He seemed really nervous. I think he's still waiting for the other shoe to fall and the cops to swarm his home.”

  I nodded to myself. I was sure that he was. We hadn't decided what to do with them from a legal standpoint and I wasn't sure we could do anything. It was probably going to be up to Blundell to decide what their role had been in Elizabeth's abduction.

  “After a few minutes, I offered to move to another table so the three of them could talk. They seemed unsure at first, like I was trying to trap them or something. But then I convinced them I wasn't and they said that would be nice. So I got up and got coffee and sat on other side of the shop.”

  “How did they interact?”

  “Fine, I guess,” she said. “There was no physical contact or anything like that. Elizabeth actually seemed kind of...I don't know. Apathetic. She was talking but her body language was kind of indifferent.”

  “She's a teenager.”

  “I guess,” she answered. “After maybe twenty minutes, Elizabeth got up and came over to me.”

  I didn't say anything.

  “And she wanted to know if she could spend the night at their house,” Lauren said.

  It was my turn to sigh.

  “I, of course, because I am a black-hearted shrew, said absofuckinglutely not.”

  I chuckled. “Of course.”

  “At least, according to Elizabeth, that's what I am. She was pissed. At me. Really pissed. Didn't understand why it was such a big deal. We went round and round and covered the same ground about why I was there with her in the first place. But she wasn't interested.”

  I leaned my head back against the headboard. “What were the Corzines doing?”

  “Watching,” she said. “After we'd stopped arguing and just sat there, staring at one another, the woman came over.”

  “To intervene?”

  “No. To apologize.”

  “What?”

  “She heard us arguing,” Lauren explained. “And she wanted to make it clear that it wasn't their idea for her to spend the night. It was Elizabeth's.”

  I shifted on the bed. “Oh.”

  “It got really awkward and they ended up leaving because it was like we were at a stalemate or something,” Lauren said. “I tried to talk to Elizabeth but she basically stopped talking to me because she was so pissed. So we sat there for awhile and then I just threw my hands up and we went and
found our hotel and we've been sitting here, not talking to one another, until she got up to take a shower a few minutes ago.”

  “I'm sorry,” I said. “That sucks.”

  “Yeah, it really does,” she said. “I feel helpless.”

  “Remember what I said. We are her parents. Not them or anyone else. We get to make the decisions.”

  “I guess.”

  I knew she was down, but I didn't think I had anything to offer her. This was just going to be part of the process and there were going to be ups and downs. It was cliché, but it was the truth. And no matter how much we wanted it, Elizabeth wasn't going to like us all of the time. Even if she'd never been taken from us, we would've been fighting a similar battle through the teenage years.

  “Any plans for tomorrow yet, then?” I asked.

  “She'd have to be speaking to me in order for us to make plans.”

  “Right.”

  “Hang on,” she said and I heard some muffled voices before she came back. “You want to talk to her?”

  “Yes.”

  There was a moment of silence, then Elizabeth said “Hello?”

  “Hey. How was the shower?”

  “Okay. Not much water pressure.” Her tone was bored, uninterested. “Kind of cold.”

  “Bummer,” I said. “How was today?”

  “Fine.”

  “Not what I heard.”

  I heard a door close in the background. “It was fine.”

  “Your mom said you wanted to stay with the Corzines.”

  “Yeah. But she said no. So, oh well.”

  “Do you understand why she said no?”

  “I don't really wanna talk about it, okay?”

  The same frustration Lauren felt was finding its way to me. So I tried to remind myself that it was just the first day there and Elizabeth was allowed to be confused and frustrated, too.

  “Okay,” I said. “You know what you're doing tomorrow?”

  “No.”

  My inclination was to push because that was what I almost always did, but I knew that was the wrong path to take at that moment. “Okay. Well, I just wanted to say hi.”

  “You wanna talk to her again?” Still refusing to say Mom.

  “Yeah, please. Hey, Elizabeth?”

  “What?”

  “I miss you. I love you.”

  She didn't respond right away, then “I'll get her from the bathroom.”

  A tiny punch to the stomach.

  I heard muffled voices again and then Lauren was back on the line. “Hey.”

  “She wasn't any more talkative with me.”

  “Nope.”

  “She's right there, isn't she?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, well, I guess we can't hash it out any further.”

  “Not sure what there is to hash out, Joe.”

  She was right. I wasn't sure, either. It was just going to be a bumpy road.

  “You do anything interesting today?” Lauren asked.

  I felt myself blush, knowing I hadn't told her where I was and that I was about to lie to her. “Not really. Same old, same old.”

  “I'm not really sure what that is for you, Joe.”

  I laughed. “Me either.”

  “I'm tired,” Lauren said. “I need to get in bed.”

  “Call me tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Of course.”

  “Okay. Hang in there, Lauren. She'll come around. It's just gonna take awhile.”

  She cleared her throat. “I hope so. I really hope so.”

  We hung up and I set the phone on the nightstand next to the bed. I clicked off the light and un-muted the TV. It was on ESPN and the announcer was selling some story on a football player. But I really wasn't listening.

  I was staring at the ceiling, wondering if and when our daughter would come all the way back to us.

  TWENTY TWO

  I was up early the next morning. I'd slept soundly for about two hours and then my mind wouldn't stop churning and I couldn't get myself back to sleep. I ended up watching crappy middle of the night television while I worried about Lauren and Elizabeth.

  When the sun finally started to peek through the curtains, I took a quick shower, dressed, found coffee in the lobby and headed to the airport.

  I toyed with the idea of staying in Phoenix but there was no reason. I wasn't going to hear back from Bandencoop. She was probably halfway to wherever she was going to go hide. My threats weren't going to do anything more than scare her into running. I made them more to make myself feel like I was making headway rather than because I thought I might get an answer. At some point, I'd pass her name to Blundell and they could chase her down. If I needed to come back to Phoenix, I could always come back. I found a flight back that left an hour after I returned the rental and I was back on the ground in San Diego by mid-morning.

  The fog was completely gone and a light breeze was coming off the water when I got to the house. I opened all of the windows, airing it out after having it closed up for a day. Something about fresh air and finding fresh ideas crossed my mind. I changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and spent two hours cleaning the house. Vacuuming, sweeping the floors, laundry, washing the counters, anything I could think of. When I was finished, I was covered in sweat, the house looked good and I felt like I'd cleared my head, taking a mental break from the chaos that had become my life. Hopefully, Lauren wouldn't mind that I'd gone on a cleaning spree in what was no longer really my house.

  I showered again and pulled on a clean pair of shorts and a fresh T-shirt. I found my phone on the kitchen table and texted Lasko, seeing if he had some time to meet. He responded immediately, telling me he could shake loose around two if I wanted to get a beer somewhere. I said that worked and he named a place not too far from the deli we'd lunched at.

  He was already in a back booth when I walked in, out of uniform and dressed similar to me.

  “Do you ever work?” I asked.

  He smiled over the beer in his glass. “I'm pulling nights right now. Covering for a buddy who needed some time with his family. Hence, the casual daytime attire.”

  “You should be home sleeping then,” I said.

  “I don't sleep great during the day.” He shrugged. “I'm fine.”

  The waitress came and I ordered a beer. Three minutes later it was on the table in front of me and I took a long swallow before setting it back down.

  “I went to Phoenix,” I said.

  He raised an eyebrow. “You have a need to experience extreme heat and crazy lawmakers?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “No. Did I tell you about what the family in Minnesota told me?About how they got my daughter?”

  “Just vaguely.”

  I recounted what the Corzines told me, then explained going to Arizona to confront Bandencoop.

  “How'd you find her?” Lasko asked.

  “A friend,” I said.

  “What kind of friend?”

  “The kind that can find stuff other friends can't.”

  He nodded, took a drink from his beer and set it on the table. “So this woman in Phoenix was involved?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “And she's going to turn over some details to you?”

  I shook my head. “I doubt it. It's going back awhile and I believe her when she says she doesn't keep records. Why would she? It'd be a stupid thing to do. I scared the hell out of her, but I'm pretty sure she's in the wind now. I don't think I'm going to hear anything from her. But at the very least, I know she was probably the middle cog. If I get totally stonewalled, it's a name I can turn over to the Feds at some point.”

  “Since I'm still a cop as of this moment, I'll refrain from asking how exactly you scared her,” he said. “Or anything more about the friend.”

  “Probably a good idea.”

  We sat and drank quietly for a few minutes.

  “So I'm thinking about a couple of things,” I said.

  “Okay.”

  �
��One, I'd like to see what we can find out about trafficking here in San Diego,” I said. “Names, cases, whatever. I can do my own research, but figured you might be able to see what else is out there.”

  He nodded. “Sure. That makes sense.”

  “I'm not sure Bandencoop's name will pop up here, but it might be interesting to see if there were any active cases around the same time and see if any other names show up,” I said.

  “Didn't they do that when your daughter was first taken?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, pretty sure. But I have no idea to what extent it was pursued. I think, now that I know she was taken and essentially sold twice, it makes sense to look again.”

  He finished his beer and motioned to the waitress for another. She brought two and set one in front of me, as well.

  “Okay,” he said. “I can do that. What's the other thing?”

  “I wanna look at the initial bust,” I said. “The one the money went missing from.”

  Lasko picked up his new beer and smiled. “I'm already ahead of you.”

  I waited.

  He set the glass down and wrapped his hands around it. “It's the first thing that looks funny, right? I mean, the first thing that isn't directly tied to the abduction. Money goes missing, the IAD shit and your detective buddy was the buster. It's the first funny thing.”

  I emptied my first beer and started on the second. “That's what I was thinking.”

  “Me, too,” Lasko said. “So I pulled the file. Nothing crazy about it. Local gangbangers get caught with a bunch of dope from runners from Mexico.” He shrugged. “Totally routine stuff. Nothing jumped out at me. So I started looking at the names listed.”

  I leaned back in the booth.

  “Ben Dailey,” he said.

  I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “Doesn't mean anything to me.”

  “Me either,” I said.

  “Didn't think it would.”

  “Well at least we're making headway.”

  He laughed. “Like Holmes and Watson.”